H.M.S. Bounty, once in Lewiston, lost in Sandy

A
famous ship with Lewiston ties went down in the recent "Super
Storm."

In
the midst of Hurricane Sandy, the H.M.S. Bounty was lost to the
Atlantic. Captain Robin Walbridge, along with crewmember Claudene
Christian, tragically went down with the ship.

Leaving
New London, Conn., on Oct. 25, the Bounty sailed south east into the
storm while on course for St. Petersburg, Fla. Walbridge, who had
been the Bounty's captain since 1995, posted on the ship's
Facebook page "A SHIP IS SAFER AT SEA THAN IN PORT." An
experienced sailor, Walbridge had been a captain and adviser on the
U.S.S. Constitution when it set sail for the first time in more than
100 years in 1997. He spent two years sailing and training the crew
of "Old Ironsides."

The
crew of the H.M.S. Bounty was trained and prepared for stormy
weather, "I've been through two other hurricanes with Robin
Walbridge on the Bounty, the ship was in great shape," said
crewmember Daniel Cleveland.

Walbridge's
last communication came on the night of Oct. 27: "I think we are
going to be into this for several days, the weather looks like even
after the eye goes by it will linger for a couple days. We are just
going to keep trying to go fast and squeeze by the storm and land as
fast as we can. ... All else is well," he wrote on the ship's
Facebook page.

The
Bounty lost power and the use of its pumps and began taking on too
much water the night of Oct. 28. The next day, 90 miles south east of
Hatteras, N.C., and 160 miles west of the eye of the hurricane, the
Bounty sent a distress signal to the U.S. Coast Guard. With a C-130
helicopter, the Coast Guard responded, saving 14 of the 16-person
crew. Christian was found unresponsive and the search for Walbridge
has been called off.

In
1997, the Bounty was brought to Lewiston as part of the village's
175th anniversary celebration. Without a crew large enough to make
the trip to the next destination of Toronto, Lewiston residents were
offered a chance to help sail the ship. Edward and Victoria DeVantier
were on the committee that brought the Bounty into town and jumped at
the opportunity.

"They
told us right up front: 'It's not going to be a pleasure cruise,
we need workers,' " Victoria said.

"This
is how our grandparents and great-grandparents came over the ocean,
working the sails. They didn't just sit in the down decks,"
Edward added.

Victoria
expressed grief upon hearing of the ship's demise and the loss of
Walbridge and Christian.

"I
felt so bad ... because we had a personal relationship with the ship,
the crew, the captain, who at that point they were still looking for.
It's just sad," she said.

The
ship was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, in 1960 for the film
"Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando. It was a replica of
the original Bounty, which the film was based on. At 180 feet long
and 115 feet tall from the water line, the Bounty had 16 sails
equaling 10,000 square feet of canvas. In addition to hosting
educational sailing programs and serving as a functional sailing ship
and a tourist attraction, the Bounty was featured in documentaries
and films, including "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's
Chest."